Where do I start this report? The Central Coast lakes are on fire right now. WON had a tournament in Cachuma on Saturday and there were fish everywhere for all the anglers who participated. Over 1000 pounds of bass were caught for an AVERAGE of 3.75 pounds! How would you like to fish in a lake where the average fish you catch is 3.75!? Big fish for the tournament was in the 6 pound class so there were lots and lots of quality fish caught. The winners caught their fish on a dropshot in 20-40 feet, quite against conventional wisdom when there were so many fish up on beds. However, the wind blew hard and the sight fishermen couldn’t see the fish and buddy Jared Lintner, accomplished sight fishermen, took 4th, only 7 ounces out of 1st. There were some good trout bait fish, while all the boats (88) were milling around in the marina previous to blast-off an osprey dove down and caught a trout and everyone knew the Osprey bite was on! Go to this lake early in the morning and look at some tremendous fish on beds. There are lots of fish up but there are lots of fish still to come up as evidenced by the deep bite. RELASE any fish you catch since they are needed to perpetuate a good fishery. A 14 pounder was caught about a week ago, as well as a few 10 plus. Try Cachuma for the trophy of a lifetime.
I fished Lopez today with my good buddy Jared and we had a wonderful day catching about 20 fish with the big one a 5.5 pounder I caught on a dropshot in Wittenberg. We caught fish on all the good pre-spawn baits; ripbaits, spinnerbaits, Senkos, and lipless crankbaits. The fish are where you think they should be, keep throwing the good stuff and you’ll catch them. One interesting note; the end of Lopez Arm was covered with duckweed, a phenomena I have never seen before.
Santa Margarita Lake, everyone’s favorite, has lots of fish on beds including crappie, largemouth, and catfish. The water is so clear you can see fish everywhere which makes them easy to locate but hard to catch. Tonya caught a beautiful 9 plus pound bass on a trout bait as well as some other good fish. Hats off to this wonderful couple who know how to catch fish. If you see them at the lake you’ll get a straight answer from them on how the fishing is. Try throwing the Senko, floating worms, ripbait, and of course, the Osprey. This lake is also a great place to cruise the shoreline and see some beautiful fish. They may be tough to catch but seeing is believing!
San Antonio Lake also has lots of fish on beds in Harris Creek and other spawning places. The Senko has been very effective here as well as flukes and ripbaits. There is still lots of brush to fish in this lake and the fish are there. Go equipped with plenty of the good stuff and see what is on the menu for the day. With little wind and lots of fish San Antonio can be a great place to practice on pre-spawn and spawning fish. Be sure to release these fish where you catch them and they will go right back to their beds.
Nacimiento is also on fire with lots of white bass being caught and loads of largemouth on the bank. Many people don’t ever see the spotted bass on beds since they spawn early and deep but they are there and can be caught on Daiquiri Senkos and ripbaits. I know almost anyone reading this will be savvy about catch and release but if you want to keep the bass you catch go to another site. Good luck, let me know how you are doing!